Category Archives: review

Married to the Mouse

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Mike

In Married to the Mouse (2001), Richard Foglesong tells the fascinating story of Disney’s relationship with the local governments of central Florida. Not the city of Orlando, actually, but Orange and Osceola counties. And the Reedy Creek Improvement District, basically … Continue reading →

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The Man in the Rockefeller Suit

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Mike

Vanity Fair writer Mark Seal tells the absolutely awesome story of Christian K. Gerhartsreiter, a 17-year old German immigrant who transformed himself into “Clark Rockefeller.” I first read about it here, when he went on trial. Read book reviews in … Continue reading →

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The Shadow Factory

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Mike

I remember reading the front page New York Times story from December 2005 that the Bush Administration had authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to engage in domestic wiretapping to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the warrants federal … Continue reading →

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Scorecasting

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Mike

Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won (2011) by Tobias Moskowitz and Jon Wertheim can be best described as “Sports Illustrated meets Freakonomics.” The authors crunch the data and challenge the conventional wisdom. In … Continue reading →

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The Real All Americans

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Mike

Sally Jenkins tells the interesting, but ultimately sad, story of the Carlisle Indian School in The Real All Americans (2007). Thoroughly researched and told well, the book tells of how a small school for young Indians played against — and … Continue reading →

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Bad Sports

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Mike

Dave Zirin’s Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love is 188 pages of trashing egotistical and wealthy sports franchise owners. What’s not to like? (Other than the sad reality of what professional sports has become in the … Continue reading →

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Big Leagues

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Mike

I first heard of Big Leagues: Professional Baseball, Football & Basketball in National Memory by Stephen Fox when I was reading this New York Times story about the development of the jump shot in basketball. Figuring that this was right in … Continue reading →

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Playing with the Enemy

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Mike

Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, World War II, and the Long Journey Home by Gary Moore is a bookend to something I read last fall, A Measureless Peril. Written by his son, it tells the story of small-town … Continue reading →

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Client 9

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Mike

Having worked in the Spitzer Administration and lived through much of this story, I was somewhat reluctant to watch this film. I ended up getting it out of library and popping it into the DVD player. The first two-thirds are … Continue reading →

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Fortune’s Fool

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Mike

Fortune’s Fool by Fred Goodman tells the story of the recording industry through the tale of Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and his gamble on Warner Music Group (and the recording industry in general). While interesting at times, it’s tough to recommend … Continue reading →

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